Even though the new work rule is now in place, there's still a strong sentiment that boosters, eager to give their favorite school a competitive edge, will somehow manage to stir up a scandal. Herezog is quick to admit that there's sufficient potential for shady dealing, particularly in the revenue-producing sports. But he also wonders if concerns about rampant booster abuse are amply justified.
"With a lot of athletes, the window of opportunity will cut down a lot on the corruption that people have fears about," he says. "The time demands that athletes have are such that it will prevent them from working a lot of hours anyway. They just won't have the time."
The NCAA work rule is now part of the college sports landscape, but that doesn't mean that changes won't be made. Schools still have to discover how to best implement this new piece of legislation.
The general consensus among compliance officers is that the way schools handle the work issue will evolve with time. But in the meantime, Romanoff said, schools are very likely to initiate lobbying efforts -- as early as next year -- to change the existing rule. "Over the next year, I can see a lot of violations with athletes going over their limit because it will be hard for the schools to monitor," Romanoff explains.
"Once everyone sees how much of a monitoring nightmare this is, they'll vote to remove the provision that limits income to incidental expenses."
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